Koshare Indian Museum & Dancers

The Koshare Indian Museum is on the campus of Otero Community College in La Junta, CO. and are the result of one James Francis “Buck” Burshears. He started a new Boy Scout Troop in La Junta back in 1933 As a collector of Native American art and artifacts, he decided to get the boys involved in a program of Indian lore and craft so as to keep their interest in scouting once they entered high school and thus attain their Eagle rank. It worked!

The dance group The Koshare Indian Dancers, have traveled extensively through the US and have been given or have purchased many artifacts of Native American craft. Their museum collection is extensive and has been valued at over $15 million.

Boy Scout Troop 232, and now Venturing Crew 230, continue the tradition of presenting interpretations of many Native American dances. Every weekend in the summer, at school programs and during Winter Ceremonials the boys (and now girls too) put their skills and hard work on display for the public in the replica of a Native American Kiva, The round ceremonial room has the largest self-supporting roof of its kind in the country. It is composed of over 600 logs and weighs over 40 tons and is held together by gravity alone. Damon Runyon was the designer.

Oh, and about those Eagle ranks. Troop 232 has had over 600 Eagle Scouts in its 72 year history. Buck Burshears knew how to motivate!